North Korea’s foreign minister signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation – often called the TAC – at the conclusion of the Association of Southeast Asian nations regional security forum, Thursday in Singapore.

The deal was drafted in 1976, and has been signed by all of ASEAN’s ten members, plus 14 other nations including South Korea, with whom North Korea has never formally concluded its 1950s war.

Alan Chong, a political science expert at the National University of Singapore, says the TAC is very general, but sets a framework for peace.

“It has been morally binding in a positive way rather than legally binding. It is a diplomatic device that commits signatories to this notion of a minimal peaceful coexistence, you know, ‘Don’t resort to the use of arms and other physical hostile measures the moment you have international disputes,'” said Chong.

North Korea has requested the treaty not be imposed on its relations with countries outside the 10 ASEAN members, the news service said, citing the letter from Pak to Singaporean Foreign Minister George Yeo, ASEAN current chairman.